FITCHBURG — The Forge Theater Lab presents “Chasing the Ghost,” an original work about toxic masculinity and the #MeToo movement written by Fitchburg State University alumna Ashley Lauren Rogers.
“Chasing the Ghost” will be performed Saturday, Dec. 7, at 8 p.m.; Sunday, Dec. 8, at 2 p.m.; Thursday, Dec. 12, at 6:30 p.m.; Friday, Dec. 13, at 8 p.m.; and Saturday, Dec. 14, at 8 p.m., in the Wallace Theatre for the Performing Arts at the McKay Complex, 67 Rindge Road.
Admission is $15 for adults, $5 for students and seniors. The performance on Thursday, Dec. 12, will be “pay what you can” night.
Because of adult subject matter, the play is not recommended for children under 14.
Playwright Ashley Rogers, a 2006 Fitchburg State alumna, is known for bold, humorous and thought-provoking work. She is an award-winning artist whose work has toured throughout the country.
“This play is for people who like complicated and dark stories,” Rogers said. “It’s my way to talk about abuse and how game culture can feel toxic and why.”
This relevant piece takes on difficult subject matters, but is also full of humor, with supernatural podcasters and an outrageous YouTube vlogger.
“You’ll be laughing one moment and then shocked the next,” said director Samantha deManbey, a 2012 Fitchburg State alum. “Ashley’s work has everything you’d want in a great play — challenging ideas, engaging characters and just the right amount of humor.”
The cast of “Chasing the Ghost” includes Leeann Monat as well as current Fitchburg State student Cheyenne Winley, Class of 2020, along with Fitchburg State alumni Charles Amaral (Class of 2008), Noah Dawson (Class of 2014), Amy DeMar-Dubois (Class of 2007), Brittany Messuri (Class of 2018) and Austin Swallow (Class of 2007).
Learn more about The Forge Theater Lab at www.theforge.ink.
